Portrait of a wild brown trout
The strikingly beautiful profile of a wild brown trout. This hefty 56cm wild brown trout went almost to the backing. Fish like these are reasonably common in Four Springs Lake, and other quality Tasmanian trout waters. Photo credit: Fiona Dewar
Drifting duns
Tiny sail boats drifting on the breeze. Emerging mayflies before they fly off to take the next part of their life's journey.
Cloud and patchy blue sky
Water temperature hovering just above 13 degrees Celsius. Light to moderate winds with a few gusty spells and small squalls. Nice steely grey light in a mixture of good cloud cover with occasional sunny breaks. Excellent conditions for mayfly hatches. This location is Four Springs, not far from Launceston in the northern midlands region of Tasmania.
What did the trout have for lunch?
Let's talk gut content. From a couple of fish we kept for dinner (1 rainbow trout and 1 brown trout), an examination of the stomach content confirms what's on the menu over these days and weeks. There are snails, grubs, stick caddis, and mayfly nymphs as well as others, and some weed. No shortage of food here, and strong powerful fish. Location: Four Springs, northern Tasmania. Close to Launceston.
Rainbow trout on a two fly rig
Mayfly duns drifting down, just a few. Two fly rig, one emerging dun and a nymph underneath. This rainbow trout chose the nymph.
Mayfly time
It's that time of year again where mayfly begin to appear in significant numbers and the fish take a great interest in them as a food source. We are seeing a number of duns in these cloud and patchy blue conditions, and a few fish showing on the surface to cash in on the bounty. This is on Four Springs Lake around the magic 2pm where both browns and rainbows came to the fly. Gary and Fiona enjoyed a few hours on the water this weekend. Here's Gary with a 56cm wild brown trout.
Tamar Estuary Fishing Experience
Tamar Estuary Fishing tours are available all year round. Tamar River estuary has many species of fish. Most of the fishing we do is in the last few kilometers of flow into Bass Strait where the water is usually clear and it has a strong tidal influence with a tidal variation of around 3 meters. Any fish species will take fly, and for some, the challenge of adding new species to their fly fishing experiences is not far away. Whether fly, lure, or bait fishing, major fish species that we target include Australian Salmon, flathead, whiting, barracouta, bream, silver and [...]
Why is weed important in the trout’s habitat?
For trout living in still waters, weed is a significant part of their habitat. Just as the clean water and sub-straight - the silt, soils, or whatever makes up the base layer, contribute to the whole environment, weed growth has a lot to do with the exchange of oxygen, and provides cover for macro invertebrates, crustacea, Galaxia, and the foods that they live on. The trout is an apex predator in its environment, so with a really good structure of microscopic and macroscopic members of the food chain living in the weed, and using the weed as a primary shelter [...]
Benefits of an electric outboard motor
There are many advantages to using an electric outboard motor when fishing on a lake. Manipulate your position Stealth Quietness in approach and presence Reduction of impact on the environment Use of clean energy Economics Maneuverability Using a remote to control the electric motor gives Gary the ability to keep his eyes on the fishing action without having to focus on starting the motor. Higher end models have GPS spotlock, which holds your position securely moored, saves putting out an anchor. https://www.youtube.com/shorts/yYF6-km7cx8
Gary chats about Four Springs Lake
Gary tells us a little bit about Four Springs Lake, and the triggers for a mayfly hatch. https://youtu.be/T5-m5FJtvss